Home
by music4life38
Summary: Sarafina has been traveling the world hunting the avatar with her closest friend, Prince Zuko, so he may redeem his honor, and so she may escape her life entangled in secrets. Mainly, the fact she is a waterbender. When they finally find the avatar, she must decide. Be loyal to the country she never truly belonged to, or finally become the waterbender she was destined to be?
1. Going Home

**This fanfic will start with the first few episodes of season 1 and kind of skip through**

**Disclaimer: I do not own avatar the last airbender or any characters, I do however, own Sarafina**

"Uncle!"

I jump at the sound and fall onto the cold metal floor of my cabin.

I realize that it's just Zuko calling for Uncle from the deck above. I wonder if they've found anything about the Avatar. I leap up from off the ground and reach for the doorknob. I stop. I'm still in my nightgown, and my hair is hanging tangled in my face.

I quickly rush to my clothing chest and slip on my uniform, specially fitted, since not too many women are Fire Nation soldiers. I pull my hair into a high ponytail with my red silk ribbon; though it's lost some of its shine through years of wear. I bend a handful of water from the pitcher by my bed and splash it on my face.

When I'm alone, bending small amounts of water is okay, I've learned. Besides, since I've never been trained at all, it's all that I'm able to bend anyways.

I strap my sword to my side, and sprint up the stairs and on to the main deck. Iroh is standing next to Zuko, while silently sipping tea, and Zuko is excitedly shouting and pointing at a beam of light shining in the sky. I walk up beside them and bow slightly. "General Iroh, Prince Zuko"

Iroh gives me a funny look "Sarafina, how many times do we have to tell you this? Drop the formalities. We aren't in the fire nation anymore, and you're family anyways."

I relax my shoulders only slightly. "Sorry Uncle." I smile meekly.

Of course we aren't actually related. I practically grew up in the palace though. My father was frequently away because of the war, I had absolutely no desire to hang around the house with my stepmother and half-sister, May. When my father was gone, my step-mother treated me worse than dirt, though May and I got along well enough. So I would go with May to the palace since she was always good friends with Princess Azula. I couldn't stand Princess Azula though, so I would play with Zuko.

It eventually evolved so that I would spend more nights sleeping in the palace than in my own home. With all the time I spent over there, Uncle Iroh insisted I call him Uncle. Though in formal situations, I would have to address him as General, just like I had to call Zuko, Prince Zuko.

"Sarafina!" Zuko shouts excitedly.

"Look!"

He hands me a telescope, so I hold it up to my eye, and he guides the telescope to a certain spot in the sky. I gasp. A shinning beam of blue light is shooting straight into the sky, and you can't even see where it ends. "We've found the avatar!" Zuko yells, laughing.

He hugs Iroh. Then he hugs me, closer though. "We're going home Sarafina," he says into my hair.


	2. Not So Happy Memories

**A/N: Enjoy, and please rate and review! If you do I'll bake you virtual cookies, the best kind of cookies. And unfortunatley, Avatar: the last airbender is not mine, only Sarafina is, and parts of the plot. Nothing you recognise is mine baisically.**

"Yay home!" I try to sound excited, but know it's half-hearted. We're going home, where in public, I'm expected to be the perfect young lady, the daughter of a Fire Nation general. In the Fire Nation, I'm the beautiful young daughter of General Kani, with exotic looks compared to the skinny fire nation girls, with their stick-straight black hair, and flat-curvless figures. "It's a shame none of his children are fire benders" the crowds would whisper during family outings. If only they knew my real element.

Mai, my half-sister, and my stepmother, Xie, know. So when we're really at home, our house, that to me technically isn't a home, I'm nothing more than the bastard child of a water-tribe slut. A mistake my father made while away at war, that he had to take responsibility for after they put my mother in prison for being a water-bender.

When I was a child, my father told me stories about my mother before I went to sleep. He said he planned to free her from prison, and run away with us, that we'd be a real family. That plan crashed before it could take off though, for my mother died when I was five from the prison conditions. I never met her.

Of course, as my father likes to say, I have more than enough of my mother in me to go around. Not only did I inherit her water-tribe teal blue eyes, body shape, and curly hair (the only thing I got from my father was his night-black hair), but also her water-bending abilities.

I learned early on that it wasn't something to advertise. When I was seven, my stepmother caught me trying to bend some water from a fountain in our back yard, and slapped me so hard I fainted. When I woke up, we were unable to cover the bruise with any amount of make-up, so I was forced to stay inside until it faded. I can still remember the fourth day straight spent in my room like it was yesterday.

_"Hey Sarafina" _

_I hear a voice calling from above, and turn around confused, wondering if a spirit might be visiting. I look up and see Zuko at my window lightly tapping it. "Open the window" _

_I climb on to my bed and open the window up, helping him into the room. "What are you doing here Zuko?" I ask confused. _

_"Well you haven't come over for like five days, and when I came to see you, your mom wouldn't let me in. So I just came here!" _

_I flinch when her calls her my mom. Of course there are only four people in the world that know she isn't. "Why didn't she let me see you Sarafina?"Zuko asks curiously._

_"I'm being out in a long time out. I did something bad, so Xi" I cut myself off before I call my stepmother by her first name, "I mean my mother, hit me, and she says to be punished for being bad, I have to stay in side until my bruise goes away. I'm not supposed to see any of my friends." _

_Zuko looks even more confused. "I thought moms were supposed to love you, not hit you."_

_"Me too" I reply sadly. "Oh but don't tell anyone though! I'll just get in more trouble! I don't want my mom to hit me again." I hold my hand against my bruised cheek, imagining being smacked all over again. _

_"Ok, I won't tell, as long as you promise to get better soon." He looks at me seriously._

_"I promise"_

_Zuko turns to leave, but a look flashes across his face like he just thought of the most brilliant idea. "Hey Sarafina! I know how to help you get better!"_

_"How?"_

_"Well whenever I get hurt, my mom kisses it better. So all we have to do to make you better is this" _

_Zuko moves my hand away from my cheek, and lightly kisses the bruise. I silently hope that the purple of the bruise covers up the slowly spreading brush on my cheeks. "There, it'll get all better. See you soon Sarafina." Zuko waves and slides back out my window._

"Sarafina. Sarafina."

I pull out of my daydream to find present day Zuko calling my name, and waving his hand in front of me. "Oh sorry Zuko! I drifted off in my thoughts for a minute. Besides, now that we're done celebrating, we better steer the ship towards that beam of light. We've got an avatar to catch."

I smile on the outside, but inside, I feel a jab of pain in my heart at the thought of returning to the Fire Nation.


	3. Important Decision

**a/n: I'm so sorry I've taken so long to update! I keep getting writer's block. Also, I'm gonna have truble being able to read, because my parents have decreed that the computer can only be used in our kitchen or living room during certain hours. I'll do my best because I really like this story, and I hope you like it to!**

It's pretty easy to find where the Avatar must be. There's only one village in all of the South Pole, and in this weather, he can't be hanging out with the penguin seals. We can't dock, so the ship plows right through their walls, and I feel a stab of guilt in my chest. I place my helmet on. The rest of the crew falls into formation with me behind Zuko, and we walk down the ramp and onto the snow.

I try to get a feel of it all. This is my mother's birth-place, and what would have been my home. Any of the women here could be my cousin or sister, aunt, or grandmother. The thing is, there are very few people in the village. Besides the children, there are only women, save one boy about a year younger than me.

I wish I could talk to them, ask about my mother maybe, but I know I can't. To them, I am just another fire-nation soldier, and to everyone else, I just see them as water tribe scum, the way we see anyone who's not fire nation. The fire nation citizens who had traveled a lot used to remark that I looked like I was from a water-tribe, not the fire-nation. I wonder if I removed the mask of my helmet, they would recognize my true blood.

I remain still however, still maintaining the air of a soldier. and the lone boy runs at him with a weapon I don't recognize, shouting. Zuko easily swings him into a snow drift, and yells for them to hand over the avatar.

One girl catches my eye. She looks to be a few years younger than me, and has dark brown hair pulled into a bun that goes into a braid, with two little hair loopy things connecting to the bun, and is wearing a classic water tribe dress, blue of course.

The boy runs at Zuko again, and he flips him over. But he gets back up and throws a boomerang at Zuko, narrowly missing his face. A little kid tosses him a spear and he runs at Zuko, but he breaks the spear, hitting the boy with it. The boomerang comes back, hitting Zuko in the head and knocking him to the ground. He gets up fire shooting out of his hands, and I feel sorry for the boy.

Out of nowhere, a boy about twelve years old slides in on a penguin seal, knocking Zuko to the ground. He has airbender markings, but it's ridiculous for him to be the avatar; he's only a boy. Apparently it's possible though, as he begins airbending. He and Zuko begin to fight. A blast of fire almost hits a few of the children, and I reach out to help them, but stop myself. I hope no one saw my show of concern.

It seems like the avatar has the same line of thought. He places his staff on the ground and asks "If I go with you, will you leave the village alone?"

Zuko nods, and gestures for the avatar to be restrained. I take one of his arms and hold it behind his back, while another of the men do the same with his other arm. The girl shouts that he doesn't have to go. He reassures the girl, evidently her name is Katara, that everything will be ok.

"Set a course for the fire nation. I'm going home." Zuko orders.

The avatar, Aang, smiles while the ships doors close, and the girl has tears in her eyes.

…

"Take the avatar to the prison hold." Zuko commands.

We guide him below deck and when we reach the door, he airbends the other guard into the door, pushing me back. He jumps on deck and I rush after him, shouting. "The avatar has escaped!"

I rush after him, several men collapsed on the ground as I run. I see him run into Zuko's cabin and the door shut behind him. I curse under my breath when I spot flashes of light coming from under the door. I sprint to the top deck and Zuko and the Avatar burst out and begin fighting.

Before I can intervene, the girl and boy from the village land on the ship on what looks like a flying bison. The ship shakes, water flying everywhere. I take the opportunity to bend water into a wall of ice in-between Zuko and the Avatar, a fleeting attempt to stop the fight. Zuko's eyes convey a mix of shock, hurt, and worst of all, betrayal. In that moment I feel a piece of my heart break, and wish I could have told him years ago.

The boy on the bison jumps down, and noticing Zuko not paying attention, pushes Zuko over the edge of the ship. "No!" My breath catches in my throat, and I feel a surge of relief when I spot Zuko barely holding on to the anchor.

"Come on Aang! Let's get out of here!" the girl calls from on the bison.

"Ok Katara!" he replies, smiling rushing towards her before hesitating.

He turns around and faces me. "Hey we're going to the North Pole to learn water-bending. Since you're a water-bender too, wanna tag-along?"

I don't know what to say. I never thought someone would be so welcoming to me while knowing I'm a fire-nation soldier, especially someone who I helped capture too. It's an opportunity of a life-time to finally train my water-bending abilities… but that would mean abandoning Zuko. He'd never let me travel with the Avatar, and he didn't even know I was a bender until just now.

I know the decision I have to make.

I mouth "I'm sorry" I mouth at Zuko, but he only coldly nods.

I'm afraid I've lost my only friend. "I'd love to come with you." I struggle to smile.

The boy and girl with the Avatar stare open mouthed at Aang, shocked that he'd even think to bring this person with them, they don't even know how old the person is, or if they're even a boy or a girl.

I remove my helmet, and their mouth drop even further to the ground at the sight of me: a sixteen year old girl, and a fire-nation soldier. "Well come on. We have to get going." He waves me over, and helps me climb on to the bison. "Yip yip!" he calls, and the bison takes off into the sky. The fact that we're in the sky freaks me out, and I hold myself as close as possible to the saddle of the furry beast. Aang laughs. "You'll get used to it sooner or later. By the way I'm Aang." He waves, smiling that cheery smile of his, before glancing at our other two companions.

"I'm Sokka." The other boy says warily, as if not sure to trust me, a fire-nation water-bender to contradictory for him.

"I'm Katara." The girl says with a shy smile. "I'm a water-bender too." Katara looks as if she's trying her best to accept me, the water-bending easily trumping the uniform I wear.

I smile warmly at them all. "My name's Sarafina Kani."

**a/n: review please! I'd love to know how you think the story should go! Should I skip to book 3? Should I skip around doing the important episodes (if so let me know which ones I should include) or should I just go episode by episode? **


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